HONG KONG
ANNUAL DEPARTMENTAL REPORT
BY THE
DIRECTOR OF INFORMATION SERVICES
N. J. V. WATT, O.B.E., J.P.
FOR THE
FINANCIAL YEAR 1971 - 72*
PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY J. R. LEE, GOVERNMENT PRINTER AT THE GOVERNMENT PRESS, JAVA ROAD, HONG KONG
* 1st April 1971 - 31st March 1972
EXCHANGE RATES
When dollars are quoted in this Report, they are, unless otherwise stated, Hong Kong dollars. The official rate for conversion to pounds sterling is HK$14.55=£1 (HK$1=6.875 p).
95514-9K-8/72
INTRODUCTION
NEWS DIVISION
CONTENTS
Paragraphs
1 - 2
3
4
Press Room
Radio News Room .
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION
Design
5 9
10
11
18
-
-
17
19 21
-
22 - 26
Editorial
Films
Marketing
27 - 28
29
30 - 31
Photographic
DEPARTMENTAL INFORMATION AND PUBLIC RELATIONS UNITS 32 33
LIBRARY
-
34 - 35
TELEVISION AUTHORITY
36
39
FILM CENSORSHIP.
40 - 42
LONDON OFFICE INFORMATION SECTION
43 - 48
STAFF
49 - 53
APPENDICES
Appendix I
The Press
Appendix II - Decisions of the Panel of Film Censors and Board of
Review
iii
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THE main aims of the Information Services Department are to keep Hong Kong people at home and overseas accurately informed of cur- rent events in Hong Kong, to keep the public informed of the development of Government policies on matters likely
matters likely to affect their lives and to assist heads of departments to carry out Government's information policy. It also keeps the government informed of public opinion as expressed through the information media in Hong Kong.
2. The department is organized in three Divisions-News, Public Relations and Technical Services. There are also the Television Authority and Film Censorship sections and four departmental units the Police Public Information Bureau and public relations units in the Labour, Resettlement and Social Welfare Departments--all of which are partly staffed by information grade staff.
NEWS DIVISION
3. The News Division offers a service of information to local and overseas press, radio and television, with the aim of encouraging com- munication between government departments and the public through the mass information media.
4. A radio news room prepares world and local news bulletins for local broadcasting and television services.
Press Room
5. The Daily Information Bulletin gives factual information in English and Chinese on official policy and public projects as well as routine notices and statistics. The bulletin is distributed to more than 120 newspapers, agencies and broadcasting stations.
6. The bulletin is supplemented by a teleprinter service which is particularly useful for agencies and newspapers with urgent deadlines. This service is not restricted to official announcements but also alerts news editors to fires and other incidents. The service is supplied with- out charge but recipients have to pay for the hire of the line and teleprinter which carries the service. There are 76 subscribers to this service.
1
7. Questions from newspaper reporters covering every aspect of government activity represent another important channel of communica- tion and enquiry desks are manned night and day.
8. Personal interviews, at which journalists discuss matters of public interest with responsible senior government officers, are arranged almost every day and press conferences to explain major projects are held frequently.
9. The experimental facsimile service for news items in Chinese, introduced in June 1969, has been well received and plans are now in hand to provide a full service to prospective subscribers in 1972. Govern- ment news in Chinese is sent over the facsimile service at the same time as the news in English is transmitted over the teleprinter network.
Radio News Room
10. Bulletins on world and local events are produced for broadcast by Radio Hong Kong, Commercial Radio and Rediffusion Television. H.K.T.V.B. operates its own news service and both T.V. stations obtain their filmed news material from their own sources. Sources for news bulletins originated by the department include two international news agencies, official releases and direct staff coverage of local events. The radio news room, located in Broadcasting House, remains under the supervision of the News Division and is in constant contact with Beaconsfield House through teleprinter, facsimile and telephone links.
PUBLIC RELATIONS DIVISION
11. The aim of the Public Relations Division is to improve under- standing between people and government by the use of all possible public relations methods. It also keeps the government informed of public opinion as expressed through the information media in Hong Kong and has a special responsibility to maintain contact with the Hong Kong Chinese living abroad.
12. The division produces frequent press reviews on items of current interest. These reviews are widely distributed to about 180 senior officers in the administration. The division also draws the atten- tion of government departments to letters which appear in the corre- spondence columns of the press and endeavours to obtain answers to any questions raised. Government replied to about 1,000 such letters during the year.
2
13. Close touch is maintained with departments in daily contact with the public and the division helps with day to day public relations problems.
14. The division also edits the Hong Kong News Digest, a weekly publication which at present has a circulation of 34,000:24,000 are distributed to overseas Chinese living in Britain, Canada, U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Africa and South America, and 10,000 to Hong Kong seamen serving on board ships abroad. Films and sound broadcasting material are also provided so that the Hong Kong London Office can arrange entertainment programmes for Chinese living in Britain; 299 such film shows were organized during the year and were very well received.
15.
The division provides material for an information team which is attached to the headquarters of the New Territories Administration. This unit makes use of films and tape recordings to maintain contact with people living in remoter areas.
16. A new survey was made of reception arrangements in government departments in close contact with the public. Based on the information obtained, advice was given on how such arrangements could be improved.
17. The division was responsible for co-ordinating a major campaign to register Urban Council electors, and is involved with publicity planning for the proposed Keep Hong Kong Clean Campaign. It continued to issue leaflets in Chinese explaining government services and procedures to the public and compiled a new edition of the Summer Youth Programme Directory. A graphic guide to the Govern- ment budget was produced for the first time to give people a better understanding of the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure.
TECHNICAL SERVICES DIVISION
18. The aim of the Technical Services Division is to provide the production services needed by the other divisions and heads of depart- ments. It is also responsible for co-ordinating most major government publicity campaigns. The division is divided into different sections dealing with design, editorial, films, marketing of publicity material and photographic services.
3
Design
19. The design section creates publicity material for government departments and other professional and voluntary agencies dealing with health, hygiene and safety campaigns, as well as advertising local public. events and entertainments. The section created 482 designs in support of these campaigns which represents an increase of 51% on the pre- vious year. These included 72 posters dealing with crime prevention, health, industrial safety and traffic and 85 leaflets explaining govern- ment services and procedures to the public, and the cover and colour sections of the annual report, Hong Kong 1971.
20. One hundred and eighty-nine window displays were erected in City District Offices, the Government Publications Centre and the department's display window. Ten domestic exhibitions and displays were designed and erected, including the Urban Services Recreational Facilities and Police Crime Prevention Exhibitions at the City Hall.
21. The Information Services Department is reponsible for placing all government advertisements in the local press including recruitment and statutory advertisements. During the year advertisements were designed for the local press and overseas newspaper supplements. The section also dealt with local recruitment advertisements, statutory notices and other notices of public interest.
Editorial
22. The main item on the publications programme, the annual report, Hong Kong 1971, was once again available to a wide readership, both in Hong Kong and overseas with a print order of 20,000 copies.
23. The year also saw many additions to the range of fact sheets, designed to provide salient information on specific aspects of Hong Kong and its administration. Titles added to the series included Social Welfare, Housing, Press and Broadcasting, The Narcotics Problem, A History of the Port, The Police, The Preventive Service and How Hong Kong is Governed. Separate English and Chinese versions were designed to serve for both overseas and domestic distribution.
24. Illustrated booklets produced during the year included Town Planning in Hong Kong, a revised edition of An Introduction to Hong Kong, The Royal Hong Kong Police Force, Training Centres, Typhoon and the fourth edition of the The Port of Hong Kong. Other
4
publications included a Simple Guide to Crown Lands Transactions, Examination Processing in Hong Kong and the San Po Kong Interchange.
25. The editorial section produces newspaper and magazine feature articles for all parts of the world. Over the year 48 illustrated features were sent out through ten agencies.
26. Readers overseas are supplied with information on life and development in Hong Kong through the news digest, The Week in Hong Kong. And they also receive publications on various aspects of Hong Kong affairs.
Films
27. The monthly news magazine, Hong Kong Today, continued to be the film section's main output. This three-minute colour magazine is distributed to approximately 65 local theatres, to the two T.V. stations, to the Chinese community in the United Kingdom and is also used on all the mobile film units which cover the urban and outlying areas of Hong Kong.
28. The major production has been the final work in connection with a documentary film of Hong Kong's fishing industry. The shooting of the film was completed during the year.
Marketing
29. This section is responsible for the planned and effective dis- tribution of all publicity material, including books, pamphlets, fact sheets and posters, produced by the department. It also distributes in Hong Kong various publications received from the Central Office of Information in Britain. The section maintains an up-to-date photo- graphic library, from which worldwide requests for photographs on a wide variety of subjects are met. In addition, it operates a mobile film unit to give open-air film shows in the various types of housing estates. The film lending library, with its stock of informative films on Hong Kong and the Commonwealth, is well patronized.
Photographic
30. The demand for photographic services continued to grow.
31. For the year under review, the photographic section produced in its own darkrooms a total of 58,899 black and white photographs.
5
Opposite:
Overleaf:
At a press reception, H.R.H. The Princess Anne is introduced to Chinese newspaper editors by the Director of Information Services, Mr. N. J. V. WATT.
On a visit to the Information Services Department, His Excellency The Governor, Sir Murray MACLEHOSE, sees a teleprinter operator at work. With him (right) is the Chief Information Officer, Mr. D. N. WILLS.
A selection of the wide variety of posters produced by the Technical Services Division.
Last Page: The department's air-conditioned reception foyer has recently been redecorated and provided with recorded music.
In the Television Authority's Offices in Beaconsfield House programmes are monitored in one of the studios specially built for this purpose.
-
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Most of these were in the standard 8" by 10" size. The figure also includes 167 prints which were made in sizes varying from 20′′ by 30" to 40" by 108′′. In addition, the section produced and processed 8,324 colour transparencies and made 2,464 duplicate colour trans- parencies and 1,042 black and white copy-negatives. All material pro- duced in the photographic section was for use both locally and overseas.
DEPARTMENTAL UNITS
32. In 1970 the department's objective was to set up departmental information and public relations units in nine major Government departments to initiate and sustain a flow of positive publicity material on behalf of the Government, and to deal with press liaison. These units provide a more direct channel for the flow of information between departments and the public. They are also designed to provide a direct liaison between these Government departments and the communications media which should lead to a better mutual understanding. During the year under review units were established in the Resettlement and Social Welfare departments-two units having previously been established, one in the Royal Hong Kong Police Force (in 1968) and one in the Labour department (in 1970). Further units will be established in the Education, Medical and Health and Urban Services departments in 1972 and in the Public Works Department and New Territories Administration in 1973.
33. Each unit is an extension of Government's information services and the departmental information officer on secondment focuses atten- tion on his particular department within the general context of the Government image. His job is to present his department's plans, achievements and aims to the public, generally through the press. The task of each unit varies according to the responsibilities of each depart- ment but may include dealing with press queries, issuing press releases, arranging press, radio and TV interviews, helping with publicity cam- paigns, public relations seminars and exhibitions, and initiating posters and publications. At all times the units are backed by the resources of the Information Services Department.
LIBRARY
34. The library has a reference section and photographic collection available to local and visiting journalists and Hong Kong firms and organizations as well as departmental staff.
7
.
35. The comprehensive reference section contains more than 2,500 books and up-to-date files of 100 periodicals. A record of events in Hong Kong is maintained in press clipping files.
TELEVISION AUTHORITY
36. The Television Ordinance provides for the appointment of a Television Authority and a Television Advisory Board. The Authority's function is to secure proper standards of programme content and technical efficiency in wireless television and generally to administer the provisions of the Ordinance.
37. The role of the Television Advisory Board is to advise the Authority in the exercise of its function; to submit proposals and recommendations to the Governor-in-Council or the Television Au- thority; and to publish reports on the progress of television. The Board's first report was published during the year. The Board consists of three public officers and two members of the public.
38. An office within the Information Services Department enables the Director of Information Services to carry out his statutory functions as the Television Authority. The Television Authority is also re- sponsible for placing government television programmes with the tele- vision companies.
39. During the year television monitors were recruited and monitor- ing studios were provided. The Authority now monitors all television transmissions. Revised television advertising and programme standards Codes of Practice were published in January 1972.
FILM CENSORSHIP
40. Films for public exhibition in Hong Kong are subject to consorship in accordance with Film Censorship Regulations.
41. The Panel of Censors viewed 7,528 films during the year, compared with 6,962 in the preceding year. Details are given in Appendix II.
42. There are at present 95 cinemas in Hong Kong. Local studios submitted 140 films for censorship during the year: 126 feature films in Mandarin, 1 feature film in Cantonese, and 13 short films.
8
LONDON OFFICE INFORMATION SECTION
43. The Information Section of the Government Office in London works closely with the Information Services Department on matters relating to Hong Kong's public relations programmes in Britain. It relies on the regular flow of information, literature and other material from the Department to sustain these programmes, and makes use of the Daily Information Bulletin to maintain its output of news releases to the British Press. The dissemination of this information, through a subscription to the private teleprinter network provided by Universal News Services and by mail, resulted in a large volume of favourable publicity for Hong Kong in the British newspaper and magazine Press.
44. The Section is responsible for the distribution in Britain of the weekly 'Hong Kong News Digest' which is received by air from Hong Kong. During the year, circulation continued to increase, but the number of copies sent to Chinese restaurants was reduced to offset a sharp increase in postage costs due to the abolition of the special newspaper rate. Nevertheless, it was judged that every member of the Hong Kong Chinese community in Britain had access to the newspaper.
45. Total circulation at the end of the year, after the reduction referred to above, was just under 12,000 copies, of which 900 were mailed to addresses in Continental Europe. Several hundred copies were sent each week to H.M. and merchant ships at sea, for the use of Hong Kong Chinese crew members.
46. Distribution of literature produced by G.I.S. formed an import- ant part of the Section's public relations work. Three thousand five hundred copies of 'City of Children' were sent to local education authorities and public libraries. An arrangement was entered into to advertise certain fact sheets' in the 'U.K. Press Gazette', a magazine circulating among journalists, at two-monthly intervals.
47. The Principal Information Officer, on behalf of the Director of Information Services, was involved during the year in a series of meetings with a London-based film company in connection with the film 'Hong Kong Style' and two shorter films dealing with housing and the port.
48. The activities of the Section are reviewed in greater detail in the Annual Report of the Hong Kong Government London Office.
9
Staff
STAFF, TRAINING, AND WELFARE
49. Mr. M. A. B. STEVENSON, Deputy Director of Information Services, left the department in April 1971 to take up commercial employment in Hong Kong. Mr. D. R. FORD acted as deputy director in his place.
50. During the year a new post of Principal Information Officer was created to head the marketing section. Two new posts of Senior Information Officer were created to head public relations units in the Resettlement and Social Welfare Departments.
51. Mr. TAM Sai-ho, Senior Information Officer went to Britain on a merit trip.
Training
52. A number of officers attended courses run locally by the Govern- ment Training Division. Fifteen university and technical college students spent their summer vacation in the department.
Welfare
53. The Information Services Department Staff Club organized several activities for the staff including a children's Christmas party, two launch picnics, an annual dinner and a coach tour of the New Territories. The Club also runs a football team.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
54. In conclusion, I wish to record my sincere appreciation of the co-operation received from heads of departments and the Colonial Secretariat. I am also grateful to the staff of the department for their loyal support and hard work during the past year.
June 1972.
10
N. J. V. WATT,
Director of Information Services.
APPENDIX I
THE PRESS
Sixty-five Chinese language dailies and four English language dailies, covering most shades of political opinion, were published at the end of March 1972. These have an estimated combined circulation well in excess of two million copies. The Chinese daily press includes 48 morning and 17 afternoon newspapers. There are two morning and two afternoon English language newspapers. In addition, eight Chinese language weeklies and one Chinese monthly are published. Four English language weeklies and one bi-monthly are also published.
Newspapers published in Hong Kong must be registered with the Secretariat for Home Affairs. At the end of the year, 178-including 130 in Chinese and 48 in English -publications were registered. The fee is $100 a year. The applicant must also deposit $10,000 as surety or provide two acceptable guarantors in this sum. This deposit is a form of protection for the public to ensure payment of fines, damages or costs of a libel action in which a newspaper or publication may become involved.
Hong Kong continues to be a base for the Far East operations of all the important news agencies and many international magazines, newspapers, and broadcasting net- works.
Both Chinese and English-language newspapers are represented on the Newspaper Society of Hong Kong, which has 19 members and three associate members.
11
APPENDIX II
DECISIONS OF PANEL OF FILM CENSORS DURING THE PERIOD
1.4.71 to 31.3.72
(PLACES OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT ORDINANCE-CHAPTER 172- FILM CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS)
FEATURE FILMS (35mm): Hong Kong (Cantonese) Hong Kong (Mandarin) Australia...
Brazil
China Mainland
Canada
Czechoslovakia
Denmark
France
France-Italy
France-Israel
-
France-W. Germany
Number of Films Submitted
-8--22
PANEL OF CENSORS
Approved for Exhibition
Approved
subjects to
Approval Refused
Excision
1
1
126
71
1
1
1
1
12
12
2
2
6
1
37
28
9
4
1
1
2
Greece
Hungary
•
India
Israel
Italy
1
1
| | | | - | Com INI
54
1
1
3
6
3
3
2
2
232
2
2
37
37
•
2
2
90
45
39
6
Italy-Greece
Italy-W. Germany
Italy-Spain
Japan
Mexico
N. Korea
N. Vietnam
1
1
2
1
1
4
3
1
27
18
4
5
2
1
6
6
7
7
Pakistan
13
13
...
Poland
1
1
Phillippines
1
...
Rumania...
Spain
S. Korea...
Sweden
Switzerland
1
5
44
...
7
2
+
Taiwan
U.K.
69
53
U.S.S.R.
U.K.-France
U.S.A.
U.S.A.-Spain
W. Germany
1
189
125
1
|_ _||
16
2
9
2
1
10
22-50
46
18
..
2
2
...
40
10
21
9
810
524
227
59
12
APPENDIX II--Contd.
DECISIONS OF PANEL OF FILM CENSORS DURING THE PERIOD
1.4.71 to 31.3.72
(PLACES OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT ORDINANCE-CHAPTER 172- FILM CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS)
Number of Films Submitted
PANEL OF CENSORS
Approved for Exhibition
Approved subjects to Excision
Approval
Refused
FEATURE FILMS (16mm):
France U.K. U.S.A.
...
2
12
211
223
7
4
3
SHORTS:
Hong Kong Czechoslovakia
Denmark
13
13
1
1
1
1
France
1
1
Holland
1
1
Hungary
1
1
+
+
India
1
Sweden
1
1
Switzerland
1
1
Taiwan
3
1
2
U.K.
11
11
U.S.A.
11
11
46
42
4
RTV FILMS:
Hong Kong
4
4
Austria
1
1
Australia...
7
7
Holland
2
2
+++
Japan
201
198
1
2
Taiwan
10
9
1
U.K.
947
944
1
2
U.S.A.
1,162
1,157
3
2
W. Germany
25
25
2,359
2,347
6
6
13
APPENDIX II-Contd.
DECISIONS OF PANEL OF FILM CENSORS DURING THE PERIOD
1.4.71 to 31.3.72
(PLACES OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT ORDINANCE CHAPTER 172- FILM CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS
TVB FILMS:
PANEL OF CENSORS
Number of
Films Submitted
Approved for Exhibition
Approved subjects to Excision
Approval Refused
Canada
France
Japan Spain Taiwan U.K.
U.S.A.
•
...
W. Germany
363
22222
25
12
សទ្ទដ
2
25
362
1
12
1
1
728
722
2
4
2,331
2,328
3
71
71
3,533
3,523
6
4
ADVERTISING FILMS
773
767
1
5
TOTAL
7,528
7,207
240
81
..
DECISIONS OF BOARD OF REVIEW DURING THE PERIOD
1.4.71 to 31.3.72
(PLACES OF PUBLIC ENTERTAINMENT ORDINANCE-CHAPTER 172- FILM CENSORSHIP REGULATIONS)
BOARD OF REVIEW
Appeals against Disapproval: 46
Appeal against Cut: 1
Passed Cut
Dis- Decision approved Postponed
Passed
Cut
Disapproved
3
2
40
1
1
14
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